The OCAT was designed to help nonprofits assess their organizational capacity. Ten years ago, McKinsey and Venture Philanthropy Partners developed the tool to help nonprofits better assess their operational capacity and identify areas that need improvement. It allows nonprofits to rate themselves across a range of critical areas, including vision, strategy, organizational health and human resources.

Since its launch, the tool has been used by thousands of funders and nonprofits, more than 70 organizations have requested permission to modify or replicate the tool, post it on their websites, or distribute it among their own grantees. It’s been cited in more than 20 books and college courses, is accessed online around 3,000 times monthly, and has been translated into 11 languages.

In October, we launched the OCAT 2.0 initiative online that began with a public commenting period that gave us greater insight into the issues nonprofits are facing today and how this tool can be most effective in supporting their work. We solicited input from organizations and their Board Members around the world, and we also conducted an online survey to receive targeted and specific feedback on how we can improve OCAT.

We will be launching OCAT 2.0 in 2013. Stay tuned!